Thanksgiving

My sister has been sending me photos from our childhood.  This one is what Thanksgiving looked like when I was a kid.  I am the little one standing in front of my father.  We always had a big turkey, stuffing, cranberry relish, gravy and mashed potatoes. It was the traditional meal with family.

This Thanksgiving we spent with other expats and had a traditional gathering Bonaire style.  I wish I had photos of the evening but due to an island wide black out, I don't. The power went off about 3:00 pm.  It was the exact time I put the potatoes in the oven for the 5:00 pm meal. Rick's smart thinking saved us as he moved the potatoes to the gas grill to cook.  It worked and we headed off to our island celebration.

Our friends, Brad and Alan, hosted the pot luck.  They hand carried a frozen turkey from the states and had a ham from the island.  Everyone seemed to find the things on the island to fulfill the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  We all sat a long table ( in the dark) and feasted on goodies each of us had made.  I was hysterical thinking the potatoes would never get done.  Brad reminded me that we all had wine and that makes everything perfect.

As my first foray into baking (from a box) at sea level,  I decided to make black bean brownies for Thanksgiving dinner as someone else had claimed pumpkin pie. They came out super fudgy.  Although Rick likes his brownies like this, they were a little too gooey for me.  I will need to figure out if I need more cooking time, a bigger pan, or less moisture. 

Regardless of the challenges on Thanksgiving day, we still had the best time spending the day with friends.